Grassroots Economics: The Poverty of Agricultural Labourers

The present publication attempts to examine the plight of agricultural labourers in India. With the fading away of euphoria of the Green Revolution of the seventies and eighties, and the advent of globalisation and increasing competitiveness of agriculture and agricultural products, the Indian farmer has suffered substantially. He has also realised the effects of advanced agricultural technology, which has affected his productivity and income. All these factors have had a filtering down effect to the bottom of the agricultural spectrum, namely agricultural labourers. The author examines major related issues, such as, the place of agricultural labour in the Indian economy, their employment pattern and wage structure, changes in their purchasing power, and, above all, their constant indebtedness and poverty. Together these analysis constitute a clear picture of what can be termed as Grassroots Economics, which is the very basis of the Indian agrarian economy. It is hoped that the publication will be of adequate use to both students as well as researchers, economists and planners and also all those who are aware of the need for fast track reforms in the agricultural sector.